Casting is a manufacturing process by which a liquid material is typically poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, and is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process. Casting is often used for making complex shapes that would be otherwise difficult or uneconomical to make by other methods. The mold itself may be manufactured by precision milling tools, although more recently, additive manufacturing has been used as well.
A problem which may arise during the casting of complex shapes is removal of the mold from the casting, particularly when the mold comprises a mold insert. Specific design rules are known in the art to overcome these problems. For example, studies have been undertaken to optimize the insert design in order to facilitate ejecting the molded part (e.g. Harris et al., J. Eng. Manufact. 2002, 216, 499-505). However, these rules entail certain limitations to the mold and/or shape of the object to be cast.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved objects, such as molds and/or mold inserts which mitigate at least one of the problems stated above.